Cnemaspis sundara, Sayyed & Kirubankaran & Khot & Harsan & Adhikari & Sayyed & Sayyed & Fazil & Jerith & Deshpande & Purkayastha & Sulakhe, 2023

Sayyed, Amit, Kirubankaran, Samson, Khot, Rahul, Harsan, Shiva, Adhikari, Omkar, Sayyed, Ayaan, Sayyed, Masum, Fazil, Ahamed, Jerith, Ahamed, Deshpande, Shubhankar, Purkayastha, Jayaditya & Sulakhe, Shauri, 2023, Two new species of Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from southern India, Zootaxa 5374 (3), pp. 301-332 : 310-319

Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. Figs 6 , 7 , 8 , 9

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3205AB35-F6A0-4DFB-9D74-5F6FD6AEC6D2

Holotype. Adult male, BNHS 2915 (32.2 SVL), collected on a rock (9.072847°N, 77.211866°E; alt. 384 m a.s.l.), Mekkarai , Shenkottai , Tenkasi , Tamil Nadu, India; by Amit Sayyed and Samson Kirubakaran on 04 April 2023.

Paratypes Adult male, BNHS 2916 (34.6 SVL) and adult female, BNHS 2917 (30.5 SVL); collection details same as the holotype .

Diagnosis. A small-sized Cnemaspis with adult SVL<35mm; dorsal scales on trunk heterogeneous; small, rounded, slightly raised, unkeeled, granular scales intermixed with larger weakly keeled, rounded tubercles; larger tubercles in 6 irregular rows at midbody; 14–15 tubercles in row on either side of flank from posterior edge of the forearm insertions to hindlimb insertion; enlarged tubercles in paravertebral region absent; conical and spine-like tubercles absent on flanks; 6–7 supralabials; 6–7 infralabials; mid-dorsal scales 75–80; scales on snout and canthus rostralis unkeeled; scales on neck, nape and occiput granular, unkeeled; larger tubercles absent on the occiput, nape and neck; scales on ventral surface of head, neck, chest, arm and pes smooth; mid-ventral scales 156–160, middorsal scales 35–36; subdigital lamellae under fourth digit of manus 13, under fourth digit of pes 13–15; males with 8–9 precloacal pores; dorsal scales of limbs granular, unkeeled; dorsal scales on tail base unkeeled, granular, flattened, intermixed with enlarged, slightly keeled, rounded tubercles; scales on ventral aspect of tail subimbricate, smooth; median series distinctly larger than rest; a single enlarged, conical postcloacal spur on each side; sexual dichromatism within species observed.

Comparisons with members of C. beddomei clade. Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. is a member of the C. beddomei clade and can be easily distinguished from all other 14 members of the clade by a combination of the following differing or non-overlapping characters: SVL<35mm (versus SVL> 40 mm in C. anamudiensis Cyriac, Johny, Umesh & Palot , C. beddomei (Theobald, 1876) , C. maculicollis Cyriac, Johny, Umesh & Palot , C. nairi Inger, Marx & Koshy , C. nimbus Pal, Mirza, Dsouza & Shanker , C. ornata (Beddome, 1870) , C. rubraoculus Pal, Mirza, Dsouza & Shanker , C. smaug Pal, Mirza, Dsouza & Shanker and C. wallaceii Pal, Mirza, Dsouza & Shanker ); six rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body (versus 8–10 rows of dorsal tubercles at mid-body in C. aaronbaueri Sayyed, Grismer, Campbell & Dileepkumar , 2–3 in C. azhagu Khandekar, Thackeray & Agarwal , 10–12 in C. beddomei , eight in C. galaxia Pal, Mirza, Dsouza & Shanker , 16–18 in C. nairi , 13–14 in C. nigriventris Pal, Mirza, Dsouza & Shanker , 12–14 in C. nimbus , 12–14 in C. ornata , 7–9 in C. regalis Pal, Mirza, Dsouza & Shanker , 8–10 in C. rubraoculus , 19–22 in C. smaug , and 14–15 in C. wallaceii ); males with 9 precloacal pores (versus 7–8 in C. aaronbaueri , 2–3 in C. anamudiensis , 6–8 in C. azhagu , 7 in C. beddomei and C. galaxia , 10 in C. maculicollis , 6–7 in C. nigriventris , 4–6 in C. nimbus , 6–8 in C. ornata and C. regalis ); 156 – 160 longitudinal ventral scales from mental to cloaca (versus 135–140 in C. aaronbaueri , 151–171 in C. azhagu , 143–147 in C. nairi , 134–141 in C. nimbus , 148–154 in C. regalis , 122–133 in C. rubraoculus , 142–150 in C. smaug , and 154–156 C. wallaceii ); 35 – 36 ventral scales across belly at midbody (versus 31–33 ventral scales across belly at mid-body in C. aaronbaueri , 34–44 in C. azhagu , 30–34 in C. beddomei , 27–31 in C. galaxia , 32–33 in C. nairi , 38–40 in C. nigriventris , 26–27 in C. nimbus , 40–44 in C. regalis , 30–34 in C. smaug and 28–29 in C. wallaceii ); Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. as a member of the C. beddomei clade can be easily distinguished from representatives of the C. gracilis clade based on a combination of the absence of spine-like tubercles on the flank and absence of femoral pores versus presence of spine-like tubercles on the flank and femoral pores present in the latter group.

Description of the holotype. Adult male generally in good state of preservation ( Fig. 6 A, B ). SVL 32.2 mm, head short (HL/SVL 0.27), not wide (HW/HL 0.59), not depressed (HD/HL 0.41), distinctly larger from neck. Loreal region slightly inflated, canthus rostralis not prominent. Snout relatively short than half of head length (ES/ HL 0.38); scales on snout and canthus rostralis large, round, juxtaposed, smooth, much larger than those on forehead and interorbital region; scales on occipital and temporal region granular, round, juxtaposed, slightly raised, smooth ( Fig. 7A ). Eye small (ED/HL 0.21),, with round pupil; supraciliaries slightly elongate. Tympanum deep, small, oval in shape (EOD/HL 0.03); eye to ear distance greater than diameter of eye (ET/ED 1.31). Rostral wider (1.28 mm) than high (0.91 mm), partially divided by a median grove; enlarged supranasal on each side, twice in the size of postnasals; rostral in contact with supralabial I, nasal, supranasal; nostrils small, oval, bordered by postnasals, supranasal and rostral; two rows of small scales separate the orbit from the supralabials ( Fig. 7 C ). Mental enlarged, subtriangular, not pointed posteriorly, longer (1.62 mm) than wide (0.99 mm); two pairs of postmentals, inner pair large, separated by single large hexagonal scale, postmentals bordered posteriorly by twelve smaller, rounded scales; gular scales granular, round, raised, smooth; throat scales granular, raised, equal in size those on gular ( Fig. 7 B ). Supralabials up to angle of jaw six on each side; supralabial I almost same in size and shape to II; infralabials up to angle of jaw six on each side; infralabial I smaller than II in size. Canthal region with 13 scales on both sides; supraciliaries separated by 30 scales at midorbit. Body relatively slender (TW/SVL 0.19), trunk less than half of SVL (AG/SVL 0.39) without ventrolateral folds. Dorsal pholidosis on trunk heterogeneous; small, rounded, slightly raised, un-keeled, granular scales intermixed with scattered, larger weakly keeled, rounded tubercles on either side of flank; enlarged tubercles in paravertebral region absent. Larger tubercles in approximately 6 irregular rows at midbody; 14–15 tubercles in row from posterior edge of the forearm insertions to dorsal side of anterior margin of cloaca ( Fig. 8A, C ); number of mid-dorsal scales 80; conical and spine-like tubercles absent on either side of the flanks, ( Fig. 8C ). Granular scales on nape un-keeled, slightly smaller than those on paravertebral rows, scales on occiput un-keeled, similer in size than those on nape. Scales on ventral surface of neck, chest, arm and pes smooth, cycloid; mid-ventral scales 160, mid-body scales 36 across the venter between the lowest rows of dorsal scales ( Fig. 8 D ); nine precloacal pores ( Fig. 7D ); Forelimbs fairly long, slender; dorsal scales of brachium unkeeled, imbricate; scales of forearm unkeeled, imbricate, smaller than those on brachials; ventral scales of brachium smooth, slightly raised, granular, smaller than those on forearm; scales beneath forearm, smooth, flat, cycloid; palmar scales smooth, slightly raised; claws slightly recurved; dorsal scales of thigh and tibia un-keeled, imbricate; ventral scales of thigh and tibia flat, cycloid; subtibial scales unkeeled; plantar scales smooth, raised; digits long with an inflected joint; subdigital lamellae unnotched; scales on dorsal surface of foot weakly keeled; lamellae beneath distal phalanges slightly widened ( Fig 9E, F ); subdigital lamellae on finger I: 8, finger II: 13, finger III: 13, finger IV: 13, finger V: 11; toe I: 7, toe II: 11, toe III: 13, toe IV: 13 and toe V: 15. Relative length of digits, fingers: IV (3.0 mm)> III (2.5 mm)>V (2.4 mm)>II (2.0 mm)>I (1.7 mm); toes: IV (3.4 mm)>III (2.9 mm)>V (2.8 mm)> II (2.6 mm)> I (0.9 mm). Tail entire and original, cylindrical, slender, flattened beneath, pointed on the tip, longer than snout-vent length (TL/SVL 1.3). Dorsal scales on tail base un-keeled, granular, same in size and shape as granular scales on dorsum of mid-body, gradually becoming larger, flattened, intermixed with enlarged, slightly keeled, rounded tubercles ( Fig. 8A, B ). Scales on ventral aspect of tail much larger than those on dorsal aspect, subimbricate, smooth; median series distinctly larger than rest; scales on tail base smaller than those on mid-body ventrals, smooth, imbricate; a single enlarged, conical postcloacal spur on each side.

Colouration of males in life ( Fig. 9A ). The dorsal aspect of the body grey intermixed with scattered, small bluish-white spots; four large, bluish-white spots longitudinally along mid vertebral from the centre of the yellow band. Head overall grey with distinct bluish-white stripes on the head, bluish-white markings on forehead and snout, a stripe from above the nostril to dorsal margin of eye on each side, supraciliaries white; a large circular central black dorsal ocellus on occiput; a circular bluish-white spot on shoulder; dorsum from neck to beyond midbody brown, a distinct yellow band across the shoulder divided by a median bluish-white spot, starting at the anterior junction of forelimbs; yellow band bordered with a thick black band on the anterior edge, four limbs are grey above with small bluish-white scales, hind limbs are grey above with irregular large, bluish-white markings; digits are grey with irregularly white spots. Dorsal aspect of tail white with black bands, tail with seven to eight alternating bluish-white and black bands. Ventral side of the head, body and tail whitish-grey.

Colouration of holotype in preservative ( Fig. 6 A, B ). Grey of dorsum of the head, body and limbs black and yellow band and bluish-white life markings dusky-white in preserved specimens; ventral side of head, body and tail gray.

Colouration of female in life ( Fig. 9B ). The dorsal aspect of the body dull yellowish-brown intermixed with large white and black scattered spots; head overall dull yellowish-brown with distinct white stripes on the head, few black scales on forehead and snout; ‘V’- shaped white marking on dorsum of head, a large circular central black dorsal ocellus on occiput; a distinct white band across the shoulder, starting at the anterior junction of forelimbs; white band bordered anteriorly by a thick black, both divided by a median bluish-white vertical band; forelimbs are grey above with small white and black scales, hind limbs are grey above with large irregular white markings; digits are grey with few irregular white and black spots. Dorsal aspect of the tail dull yellowish-brown with dull-white bands, tail with seven to eight alternating dull-white bands. The ventral side of the head, body and tail whitish-grey.

Colouration of female in preservative. Yellowish-brown of the dorsum of the head, body and tail dark-grey in preservbed specimen; white spots and markings in life on the head, body, limbs and tail light-grey, black spots and markings on the head, body, limbs and tail grey of dorsal limb surfaces remain little changed.

Variation. Mensural data for the type series are given in Table 8. Both paratypes resemble the holotype except as follows: the number of lamellae on digit IV of the pes ranges from 13 to 15; the number of supralabials and infralabials in males six, and seven in female to the angle of jaw; ventral scale counts in longitudinal series vary from 156–160; mid-ventral scales in transverse series 36 in holotype male and 35 in both of the paratypes; holotype male has nine precloacal pores and paratype male has eight. The two males in our collection match each other in overall colouration; there is strong sexual dichromatism within the species.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘sundara’ meaning beautiful.

Suggested Common Name: Sundar dwarf gecko

Natural History ( Fig. 1 B , 10 B ).

The type series of C. sundara sp. nov. was collected from the premises of Into the Wild Resort, Mekkarai, Shenkottai, Tenkashi District, Tamil Nadu, India (only known from the type locality). The individuals were observed on rocks present on the premises of the resort. The individuals were observed to be active in the daytime (1100–1700 hr). This suggests that the new species is diurnal and rupicolous. The individuals were also observed on the walls of the resort. The new species was found to be sympatric with Hemidactylus frenatus (Duméril & Bibron) , Hemidactylus cf. vanam, Draco dussumieri (Duméril & Bibron), Calotes calotes (Linnaeus) , Psammophilus dorsalis (Gray) , Ahaetulla sahyadriensis (Mallik, Srikanthan, Pal, D’souza, Shanker & Ganesh) and Hypnale hypnale (Merrem) .

Distribution. Currently, C. sundara sp. nov. is only known from only its type locality Mekkarai, Shenkottai, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Map showing the distribution of Cnemaspis gracilis clade (A) and Cnemaspis beddomei clade (B) in peninsular India. The type localities of the new species are indicated by stars.

FIGURE 6. Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. holotype, BNHS 2915; (A) dorsal view of body, (B) ventral view of body. Scale bars 10 mm.

FIGURE 7. Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. holotype, BNHS 2915; (A) dorsal view of head, (B) ventral view of head, (C) lateral view of head, (D) view of femoral and precloacal region, (E) ventral view of lamellae under right menus, and (F) ventral view of lamellae under right pes. Scale bars 5 mm.

FIGURE 8. Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. holotype, BNHS 2915; (A) dorsal view of mid-body, (B) ventral view of mid-body, and (C) lateral view of mid-body. Scale bars 5 mm.

FIGURE 9. Colour in life of Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. lateral aspect of holotype, BNHS 2915, male (A) and lateral aspect of paratype, BNHS 2917, female (B).

FIGURE 10. Habitat photos of Cnemaspis triedra sp. nov. from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India (A). Habitat photos of Cnemaspis sundara sp. nov. Mekkarai, Shenkottai, Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, India (B).